The continuing parallels of the UK and NZ Labour parties

Tony Blair has issued his most withering assessment of Ed Miliband to date, suggesting he has turned Labour into a ‘traditional Left-wing party’ and predicting he will lose the general election.

The former prime minister indicated he thought Mr Miliband had deserted the political centre ground, leaving the Tories likely to win.

This, as we discovered, is what happens when the Labour party is the parliamentary wing of the union movement.

Mr Miliband has attacked predatory capitalism and spooked companies with his pledge to freeze energy bills.

Not quite the same as nationalising electricity so we all could pay about $3 less on our power bill like the NZ Greens and Labour were selling, but, once again, amazing parallels. And again, amazing losing strategy.

Asked what lessons he took from winning elections, Mr Blair highlighted ‘not alienating large parts of business, for one thing’.

Earlier this month, he criticised MPs who, like Mr Miliband, have never had a proper job outside politics.

Labour are full of academics, career activists that sidle up to the trough, and union people that have earned their way into early ‘retirement’. Not a single one knows what it is like to be a waged worked or run a small company.

In November, Mr Miliband saw off an attempt by backbenchers to oust him in what became known as the ‘bonfire night plot’.

It followed a devastating attack on his leadership by the New Statesman magazine – the traditional journal of the Left – which described him as an ‘old-style Hampstead socialist’.

The Coup that was to take Cunliffe out was cancelled, and everyone settled in for a loss. A loss that could then be sheeted home to David Cunliffe.

It seems Miliband is going down the same path in a remarkable replay of what happened in little old New Zealand.

– Mail Online

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And still our Labour supporters have not learned. They even criticise Clarke for being to right wing. “When will they ever learn?”

Isherman

As long as they continue to believe that ideology alone works without any political pragmatism..not any time soon.

Captain Darling

Hopefully not anytime soon. The longer they stay in opposition the better for us and the country.

Carl

It will be interesting to see with all the ISIS stuff going on over there how much of a bigger footing the UKIP party can get in Parliament.

Michael_l_c

Traditional labour is now irrelevant.
People do not live in mind numbing poverty. There are no work houses. Children do not starve. People have 40″+ TV’s, game players, cell phones, near free health care etc.
In the UK labour voters will turn against immigrants; ‘they take our jobs’; although immigrants often fill jobs the brits won’t do as the benefit is too high; they take our houses; they don’t adapt to our culture, why don’t they go back to where they came from; forgetting many were born in the UK.
UKIP or similar will rise, ‘white’ civil unrest will occur. Then what? I dread to think.

Michael_l_c

Oh & miliband looks like he has eaten a full buffet of dead rats with more to come.

andrewo

..and Tony should know. He was the one who rescued Labour from the union movement last time around.

Michael_l_c

Unfortunately blair increased welfare dependency & encouraged immigration, therefore increasing his voter base. Along with invading Iraq leading to the current mess with isil, wallowed with the corrupt bankers a shocking legacy that only a narcissist would be proud of.

caochladh

“‘white’ civil unrest will occur.” Yes, it will fueled by the cretins from the far right. If you look at the more vociferously criminal of the skin head types (Romper Stomper comes to mind) advocating “white” supremacy, you will notice that their cranial features could indicate that their genetic profile probably has African links through the Romans’ leaving their African slaves and African soldiers behind when they left Britain. I wonder if these idiots would be trumpeting “white” supremacy if they looked into their lineage and found their ancestors did come from darkest Africa.

rua kenana

Blair was, ultimately, a long-term disaster for England and is now pretty much a joke.
However he did have good political antennae and an ability to win elections.
It seems Ed Milliband doesn’t have too much of anything.

conwaycaptain

Also a N of England MP is saying that the Parliamentary Labour Party is out of touch as it has v few MPs from the working class or who have ever worked on the Shop Flor and that too many MPs coming in are Uni graduates etc. Also the Red Princes/Princesses whose fathers/grandfaters are Labour MPs, Prescott, Benn,Blair etc etc

Wallace Westland

Sounds familiar.

axeman

No No No Mr CC. They do understand ordinary people

Gus the Normal

Not a fan of Millband but Labour is leading the opinion polls (YouGov) in the UK. Still quite a few scenarios that could play out next year. The bookies have a hung parliament as the favourite, followed by Labour. Original Blair quotes were from The Economist (http://goo.gl/09QuNk).